Thursday, 26 August 2010

Healthy living is commonly seen as a rational choice on the part of individuals. Indeed, Prof Fields' outlook (click his name for a summary from the Herd blog) seems to be grounded in theories about the rational actor/self regarding individual.

Durkheim initiated a long tradition of sociological and anthropological opposition to the kind of assumptions underpinning Prof Fields’ views, with his examination of the social origins of individual thought.

We need to think about the influence of socio-cultural factors on perceptions, i.e. the norms and values associated with culture and reference groups. We also need to think about the organisation of social relationships, using social network analysis for example, to determine the effect that family and friends can have on decisionmaking.If we do so, and as any parent can tell you, we will realise that behaviour is infrequently changed by more information or persuasive arguments in isolation (e.g. see Lewis way back in 1945: ‘Conduct, knowledge and acceptance of new values,’ in Journal of Social Issues).Finally, here's the video referred to in the Herd blog for a great counter to Professor Field's outlook, focusing on social processes: